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Our Lady of La Salette & Saint Joseph Catholic Church
Parish Priest: Canon Michael Cooley
14 Melior Street, London SE1 3QP
020 7407 1948
e-mail: lasalette.melior@gmail.com
PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH
O glorious
patriarch, St. Joseph, humble and just craftsman of Nazareth, help us in our
daily work so that we may find in it an effective means of glorifying Our
Lord, of sanctifying ourselves, and of being useful to the society in which
we live. Obtain for us from Our Lord, humility and simplicity of heart,
attachment to work, a spirit of discipline and prayer, respect for others and
support in times of stress. Help us to follow your example and keep our sight
fixed on Mary our Mother, and never avert our eyes from Jesus until we reach
eternal happiness with you in heaven. Amen.
Saint Joseph –
Guardian and Protector
Saint Joseph - Saints date: 19th March. Hebrew and means: "God Adds to
Him".
“As Joseph looked at Him, he found it
difficult to take in that this Boy was the Messiah, the Son of God…” Extract
from ‘Song of the Carpenter’
You may have noticed there seem to have
been fewer Messages from Jesus recently. I have thought about this, and
wondered why. What is Jesus trying to say to us? I believe things don’t
happen by accident. A possible theory might be that Jesus’ Messages at this
time are contained within ‘Song of the Carpenter’.
I believe this book is a gift to the
world and has enough spiritual capacity to touch each and every individual
heart in our world today. For myself, I have experienced a deep inner healing
which has begun and is continuing. As we all know, much healing is needed in
our world today. There are few, if any, without pain. God’s children cry out;
they starve for something; they do not know what.
Song of Carpenter touched me and I would
like to share with you how the character of Saint
Joseph has relieved me of
some of my pain.
Joseph was betrothed to Mary, the
marriage contract had been signed, which in Jewish Law meant they were now
husband and wife. He had a year to prepare the house before the wedding ceremony,
after which he would then bring her to their home. It was during this time of
preparation that he was informed that Mary was with child. Suddenly, his
world fell apart, “…his heart split and felt away…” He decided to divorce
Mary for her own sake. Being a just and holy man, and regardless of his own
pain, he decided to do it quietly so that she would not be disgraced or
stoned. “…The pain that seemed to have made its home in him… had no mercy on
him. His mind and heart battled to stay out of the darkness that threatened
to engulf him. His soul was raw from the battles he fought within himself… He
tried to eat but all he could do was drink water. He sat now in the awning
where the prepared wood was kept and with a small knife he whittled a piece
of wood to a point. It was like the spear that his thoughts drove deeper into
his heart. He had never felt like this…”
Joseph went to his house and looked
around at this home he was preparing for Mary. “…He had placed his life
within it and waited for the one whom he loved to come and live within it.
For her, he had decorated it with so many flowers that were tokens of his
love so that their smell would fragrance the house. Within were many
furnishing that would please her. When the Rabbi had spoken, the words erupted
through him as an earthquake might split the land, its strength and its
tremors cutting through the house that he had built for his love. He could
see the cedars splinter and crack under the force of it. It tore the
furnishings; ripped them so that no further use could be found for them. The
house was torn from its roots and flung to the four winds.
He saw his heart. It was the house; his
love placed there, carefully piled as one would pile the altar with good
things as an offering to the Almighty, now flowed like blood, wasted to the
ground. He had not realised that he had loved Mary so much. He still loved
her, but now they could not be together. The splinters of cedar crackled and
split in the fire of pain that burned in his heart.”
Joseph, after sleepless nights, “…tossed
and turned as though he were being assailed by demons…” eventually called
upon “…Yahweh, his God: ‘Eternal God’, aloud and with gentle conviction. ‘I
do not know how to ask for your mercy. Why has this been done to me? Look
upon me with favour, once again.’…” It was later that Joseph received his
answer in the form of a dream, when the Angel Gabriel came to him and told
him, “…‘the child in her womb is given her by the Holy Spirit. She remains a
virgin and will remain a virgin. You are given the honour of protecting this
highly favoured maid. The fruit of her womb shall be the salvation of
mankind. His name will be Jesus and he will save the world from its sin.’…”
At this, Joseph felt joy rise in his
heart, the seed that was now planted began to grow. Suddenly he became whole
again. He rushed to the Rabbi’s house. “… ‘Rabbi! Rabbi!’ said Joseph,
breathlessly picking himself off the floor, ‘Destroy the writ of divorce. I
am going to go ahead with the contract. I will take Mary home’…”
For me, Joseph was a human-being like
us. When his world fell apart, his dream shattered, he went through all the
pain, turmoil and emotion, all the darkness and despair within, that many of
us can or will relate to. Joseph’s deep faith in God sustained him. Through
the dream, God had enlightened him and once he accepted what was happening in
his life, all became clear and all seemed possible.
A short time after this Joseph took Mary
home as his wife, “…Joseph looked down at his bride. She was his wife now.
They had whole married life ahead of them. He remembered the words of God to
Adam: ‘And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make a help mate for him. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken
from man, made a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, ‘this is
now my bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman
because she was taken out of Man.’ Joseph felt now, as they walked the
short distance to his home, and her home, that he would be happy. God had
given him this woman that was his wife. He knew that now. He knew that he
must look after Mary with his life, for her body was the tabernacle of the
Most High God.”
“…As she looked up at him he held her
face in his hands, ‘Mary, I wish only God’s Will. Our love will carry us
through wherever this path takes us. I do not pretend that I will be easy but
I know that we can, with God’s help, get through it. My work is to protect
this child and with all my heart I will do it. It is your work to be his
mother and I accept that. I am telling you that I will accept whatever God
sends. I just hope that I can do all that he expects of me.’ Mary looked at
him. She could feel the roughness of his hands on her face. All the years of
working with the wood had toughened and hardened them. ‘Then we will do this
thing that the Lord asks of us. Let us prepare ourselves for what is to be
come.’ He embraced her again with tenderness. Both hearts were swelled with
love.”
During this part of the story I realised
the gentle, yet strong person in Joseph. His love and caring, his kindness
and giving of himself to Mary touched me. His love for her is seen in the
preparations he made. Here we see Joseph giving of himself to support and
protect the Mother of God. He accepted that Mary was to care for the child
Jesus when He would be born. A preparation of love had begun as these two
hearts were one with God.
When the Holy Family returned from their
long exile in Egypt
and were nearing their home again in Nazareth,
both Mary and Joseph were so happy to see Nazareth,
their home, once again. Joseph, in his excitement, said to Jesus, “… ‘Look
Jesus, this is the place where we lived before we went to Egypt.
We are going to live here again. You will become a carpenter here and you will…’
Joseph stopped and his excitement died. He realised that Jesus would not live
a normal life; for God had other plans for him and earthly plans were not for
him… Sadness caught Joseph’s heart and held it.
Jesus was looking at him. His deep,
piercing eye held Joseph’s as though he could see his soul… Jesus smiled at
his foster father as though it were not wrong to think these things, to want
these dreams. Joseph caught the moment and looked at Jesus and smiled. Jesus
put his arms around Joseph and kissed him on the cheek and hugged him. As the
child embraced, Joseph felt like he had been washed, clean and free; a hand
had penetrated his soul and healed it. A fresh breeze now wafted over his
soul, caressing it with gentleness.
Joseph felt new. His tiredness and all
the hard walking that they had done disappeared. He felt free. The tears were
thick in his eyes and blinded him.
Mary was looking at both her husband and
her son. She too had caught the moment between father and child. It was a
deep movement of touch, a moment of complete and total understanding between
the two; a moment of surrender on Joseph’s behalf; a moment when the two
became one. Joseph looked again at Jesus and the two laughed.”
This moment of understanding for Joseph
spoke very clearly to me. Here we see the importance of a father’s love, the
bonding of a father and son. The child pressing to and embracing the
protection of this caring, gentle guardian. Now, when I look to a picture or
statue of Joseph holding the child Jesus, I see the fatherly affection as the
two hearts meet and are one.
Let us not despair in life, no matter
what trials may come our way. When the Angel came to Joseph he accepted the
message for what it was – the Word of God, and the foundation of faith that
already existed in him since childhood sprung into life within his heart and
filled him with hope. After seeking God’s help, Joseph could now realise his
vocation as husband to Mary and foster father of Jesus. He had found the
meaning to his life and by that acceptance and obedience to God’s Will, he
found peace and fulfilment. He embraced it.
We too experience a deeper peace, a
contentment, strength and love of God when we have discovered our vocation in
life, namely rebuilding the church
of God
within our own hearts and letting God’s broken children know His Love through
us.
Just like Saint
Joseph, we must keep our eyes
fixed on God and not let the heaviness or pain drag us down. When we look to
God and His Ways we look up to see Light and Hope. When we look down we only
see self.
Let us pray that the words of ‘Song of
the Carpenter’ may bring healing light, solace and comfort to the wounds of
God’s children.
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Ignatius was born in his parents' castle in
Loyola in Northern Spain in 1491. In his youth, he loved reading stories about bold
warriors winning the hearts of beautiful girls through their brave deeds.
When he was old enough he became a page in the court of the chief accountant
of Ferdinand, King of Aragon and Castille in Spain. All was well until one day in 1521, in a battle; his leg was
shattered by a cannon ball.
A surgeon hastily set his leg, but it
was not well done. As a result he had to spend several months in
convalescence waiting for his wounds to heal. To avoid getting bored he asked
for romantic stories to read, but the only reading material available was a
copy of the 'Life of Christ', and a 'Lives of the Saints'. It was while he
was reading the life of Jesus and the lives of saints that a great change or
conversion took place within him. He felt 'his eyes were opened'. He
experienced at the core of his being an enormous desire to follow Jesus.
He decided to give up his dream of fame
as a soldier, reform his conduct and become a great follower of Jesus. He
wanted to imitate the example of the saints in dedication to God's service.
When he was at last well enough to walk,
he set off on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Monserrat. After an
all-night vigil at the shrine, he exchanged his rich clothes with a beggar
and laid his sword and dagger on the altar of Our Lady. He was not sure what
he was going to do next, but he felt the need for solitude and time for
prayer. He made his way to the little town of Manresa
where he intended to spend a few days nursing the sick in the hospital
of St. Lucy
and writing down some of his experiences.
Actually he spent eleven months in Manresa
where he devoted all his time to prayer, fasting and writing down his
reflections. These reflections were later published as The Spiritual
Exercises. These 'Exercises' set out a way of praying and living that help
people to discover God's personal plan for them. Today, thousands of people
all over the world use these exercises, some just to draw close to Jesus and
others to discover what God's will is for them.
Several months later he made a
pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
During this time, he felt God was calling him to become a priest. This meant
that he had to settle down to serious study. He began his studies in Barcelona
and then went to Alcala. From there he went to Salamanca
and finally completed his studies at the University
of Paris.
While Ignatius was in Paris,
he gathered around him a group of friends. In their conversations, he shared
with them how he made space in his heart for God. He told them what his life
used to be like and how it had now changed. Each one of the friends wanted to
find out what God might want of them. They understood that, in order to
discover this, they would need to find some quiet time and allow God to
influence their thoughts and actions. Ignatius used to explain to them that
God is always coming to us; it is we who are not ready to receive him. When
we are totally caught us with our own interests there is no room for God, so
we must try each day to make some time to be alone with Him. If we trust and
firmly believe in God, he will guide our thoughts and actions and will come
into our life and transform it.
Ignatius firmly believed that it was not
he who gave himself to God, but rather, God took the initiative and gave
himself to Ignatius. All he had done was to open his heart to God in prayer.
He had such a close relationship with God that he was able to guide others
who were searching for a meaning and purpose in life.
In 1537, Ignatius was ordained a priest.
Shortly after this, he decided to go to Rome
and offer his services to Pope Paul III. On the way, about fifteen kilometres
from Rome,
he stopped at a little wayside chapel of La Storta. Here, he obtained a
mystical grace: he saw the heavenly Father and Jesus carrying his cross; he
heard the Father say to Jesus, "I want you to take this man for your
servant". Jesus turned to Ignatius and said, "I want you to serve
us". From this time onwards, Ignatius had great devotion to the holy
name of Jesus.
When he arrived in Rome
and met the Holy Father, to his great joy he discovered that this Pope was
looking for dedicated people to help him in his task of reforming the
Catholic Church. Ignatius told him about his friends who also wanted to
devote their lives to God in a special way. So, in 1540, Ignatius was allowed
to form an Order called the Society of Jesus. They soon became known at the
'Jesuits' and took a special vow of obedience to the Pope. Their numbers grew
rapidly and, before Ignatius died in 1556, they had grown from the original
group of ten friends to over a thousand. They soon set up schools and
universities and worked as missionaries in Europe,
Asia
and North and South America.
Ignatius of Loyola was canonised by Pope
Gregory XV in 1622. The Church celebrates his Feast Day each year on 31 July.
Sr. Marcellina CP
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Extract taken from ‘The Little Flowers of Saint
Francis’:
When Saint Francis had a grave eye
affliction the Lord Cardinal Ugolino, the protector of Saint Francis who loved
him deeply, bade him to go to Rieti where there were the best
ophthalmologists. The blessed Francis, when he received the Lord Cardinal’s
letter, went first to Saint Claire lived. His purpose was to visit and
console her before his retreat, going to Rieti later.
When he reached Saint Damian’s he was so
severely hampered by his eye trouble that he could not distinguish any light
at all. So Saint Claire had a little cell of reeds and rushes built so that
he might rest in greater confidence further away. He stayed there fifty days,
but was so plagued by his eye trouble, and by a swarm of mice stirred up by
the devil that he was unable to rest night or day. The most blessed Francis,
recognising that this was a scourge from God, began to give God thanks and
praise Him with his whole heart and voice, and to cry out from his deepest
being that he was worthy of such tricks and troubles and much greater ones
than these. And he prayed to the Lord saying: “Lord Jesus Christ, Good
Shepherd, grant me your little sheep, grace and virtue that in no trouble,
tribulation or grief I may depart from you.”
Thereupon, a voice from heaven saying: “
Francis, reply to Me: if the whole world were gold and the sea, rivers and
springs were balm, and all the mountains and stones and springs were gems and
you could find a treasure as much nobler than them all by as much as gold is
more precious than them all, and balm more precious than water, and gems than
mountains and rocks, and if all that precious treasure were granted you for your
present infirmity, should you not rejoice?” Saint Francis answered: “Lord, I
am not worthy of such treasure.” And the Lord said to him: “Rejoice now,
Brother Francis for such is the treasure of eternal life which I have set
aside for you, and from now I clothe you with that infirmity, and your
affliction is the earnest of that blessed treasure”.
I first learned of Saint Francis in a
very strange way, many years ago. I had been diagnosed as having glaucoma and
the doctor had started me on treatment. I had a dream, a very clear dream, in
which I walked into the local health clinic and one of the doctors came over
to see me. He said he was sorry to hear about my eyes and he went on to tell
me to pray, pray, pray to saint Francis.
Within a few weeks I went to a prayer
meeting, in the house of a very dear friend, and the Patricks came along to
speak about the Messages of Love. During the course of the evening they
mentioned Saint Francis.
I was only beginning to learn that there
was more to a prayer life than just Mass on a Sunday and I was thirsting to
learn more.
I got some books and read a lot, I read
about Saint Francis. I was amazed to discover that the eye disease from which
he had suffered was also glaucoma, I was truly astounded.
As time went on I realised that Jesus
had been inspiring me to look at Saint Francis but it was not really a lot to
do with my eyes, it was more to do with the inner me; my heart, my soul, my
inner sight, so to speak. Saint Francis loved Jesus so much he gave up
everything and the love he felt in his heart nourished him and kept him going
on a hard and difficult road. He allowed himself to be purged, and indeed
very often purged himself, yet the love in his heart touched so many. Saint
Francis touched my life in a special way and I call out to him often to help
me. I have not done so well on my journey and have fallen many times, I am a
sinner through and through and I thank You, sweet Jesus, that You allowed
Saint Francis to touch my life.
Toward the end of Saint Francis’ life he
continued to suffer and, it is said, it was then that he endured his greatest
suffering. This was brought about over his concern that the order, which had
been found, remain steadfast in the rule given him by God.
The words he spoke at the point of his death
remain as relevant today as they did then: “Good bye in Christ, good bye to
all, my sons. In Him remain firm for the day will come when all will be put
to the greatest proof, and trouble will already be near. Blessed are they who
will persevere when others will flee. Now I hurry to the Lord; in faith, I
turn towards my God, who in my spirit I have sought every day devotedly to
serve.”
May we all aspire to meet life as
Francis did and when our time comes to greet death as he did: ‘Welcome, my
Sister Death’.
May we all be given the Grace to
persevere in our journey to Jesus and that at all times we place all our
trust in Him.
Message from Saint Francis
I, Francis, greet you, servants of our Master’s
Heart. Realise, brothers and sisters, it is in the giving of yourselves that
you receive the true Love of Jesus, who is All. Do not look to your brother
in what he gives, but look entirely at yourself. The road to Perfection is a
giving sacrifice, is a giving of love that is offered with the heart. The
greater the love, the more that you will want to give, the more you will not
see yourself. The nothingness will become apparent in your life. To realise
that you are but a speck of dust in your brother’s sight, will bring you upon
great journeys of Love that you would not believe to exist.
Remember, the greater the giving to
Jesus, the greater you proves your love. The rewards that you will reap are
fathomless. Do all to please Him and not yourselves. This is loving your
neighbour, and a total loving of our Lord and Master, Jesus.
Praise be Jesus, the All-Loving God;
praise be Jesus, a truly gentle Friend; praise be the children of our
Master’s Heart. Humility, Love and forgiveness are the keys that I recommend
to all who believe in the Way of Love.
I love you, my little brothers and
sisters; Love is yours.
Peace Prayer of St.
Francis
Lord,
make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is discord, harmony;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
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